Always Starting Over
by LyricstoSilence
Summary: Two years after the Neo World Program ended, the Future Foundation decides to pull the plug on the comatose kids. Now rehabilitated and no longer allowed to stay on Jabberwock Island, the five survivors are forced back into the world they helped destroy. There they learn awful truths, even more awful lies, and struggle to see if their new hope can stand up to this new despair.
1. Prologue

**Well, first Danganronpa fanfic. This takes place post-SDR2, about two years afterwards, just in case it wasn't clear. I own no characters, just to get that out there now. (There might be one or two FCs later, but not for a while, so...)**

**Enjoy!**

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Once they had yearned for despair.

Despair was their cause, their purpose, their life. Each moment of it caused them twisted delight, relishing in other's misery and fear and the _absolute despair_. When they had each lost hope, it was Junko who gave them a new hope. A darker, scarier one, which was as delightful as it was painful, and they took it like masochists. It was like a drug. They killed for despair. They lived for despair.

And now despair just hurt in more ways they'd ever known.

"We can't keep them hooked up forever, it's been two years already," one of them had said. "The Future Foundation was meant to eliminate the Ultimate Despairs. We already went against that to rehabilitate you five, and we can't keep these comatose kids here forever. They're not coming back, so it's time to pull the plug."

It felt like the Future Foundation was their enemy again. Just like in the simulation, when they all believed the Future Foundation was World Ender, and they had trapped them in that killing game for sick amusement. When their lies and their truths were so mixed up they could only find bliss in their ignorance.

The worst part was when even Makoto agreed.

"It's true. I know you guys want them to wake up, but… I really can't say they will. You just have to accept it, and live for them instead. It's hard, I know, but it'll be better in the long run. You guys are strong, you can do it. I believe in all of you."

It was awful, having the boy who was supposed to be hope causing them to despair. Despair, despair—enough with the despair. Why were these people crushing the only thing they held hope for? Why is it when they finally wanted hope all they got was despair?

Despair was no longer craved. No longer was it yearned for and no longer did they want it.

Unfortunately, despair was no longer avoidable.

Akane had been broken and unstable for the longest time after she was released from the simulation. She barely ate and didn't spar with anyone, or do anything but sleep, really—she wouldn't speak to anyone, unless someone mentioned her rapid decrease of weight, in which she snapped she knew what she was doing and that she was just fine. Losing Nekomaru had taken its toll on her, and although she was hopeful for his return, the wait proved painful. It wasn't until Kyoko reminded her that starvation was exactly what Nekomaru died to prevent that she finally started taking care of herself once more. It took her a while to get back into the swing of things, and although she spoke and smiled now, it was obvious that it was a mask for her late friend's sake.

Kazuichi hadn't been much better. He was flighty and paranoid, shutting himself in his room and refusing to leave, afraid that the murders would take place on the real Jabberwock Island, terrified that perhaps he had already died and this was an afterlife for him—stuck on the island to never escape, stuck with the memory of all the others that had been lost. It wasn't until Sonia started needing support that he snapped out of his crazed delusions and stepped up to help. She had gone into a fit of rage, cutting her long blonde hair off until it barely reached past her chin—and then cried for the self-destruction she caused. She cried for Gundham and for her other friends, each one lost during the game and those who were killed by her prior want for despair, and Kazuichi managed high spirits, if only so he could help her achieve the same. He built machines and broke them down, just so he could build them again and distract himself from anything that bothered him. Eventually he and Sonia managed a healthy friendship, and the two of them became closer than any of the others would have guessed. Still broken, they relied on each other to hold themselves together.

Fuyuhiko took the longest to overcome his despair. In fact, he relied on his sworn brother to help him when he desperately needed it. He didn't seem to catch many breaks after they escaped the game—he lost of someone dear to him, as well as the loss of vision in his right eye. To his misfortune, the scar existed on him too, not just on his avatar, and he continued to wear the eye patch even when he slept—when he bothered to do so. He used to stay up at night, staring at the ceiling and regretting everything he had done. He never though he would have regrets in his life—he was a yakuza, he wasn't supposed to regret any kind of blood on his hands. But when the blood on his hands included the girl he held closest in his heart, well, that all went out the window. And when he learned the fate of his family, the others had to prevent him from falling back into despair all over again. His little sister had indeed been killed by Sato, and his mother had died as well in the midst of the Tragedy. It was probably the first time they ever saw him cry—and he was determined that it would be his last. In time, he managed to pull himself together and was back to smart-ass remarks and a tough attitude, but it didn't take much to see the hurt lying just below his facade, and the guilt of Peko and Mahiru's death that gnawed away at him every day.

Unlike the others, though, Hajime still wasn't over it, and he wasn't sure he ever would be. His hair was still black and his eyes were still red—although he cut his hair back to his former length he still felt as though he would never truly be the same. He insisted that no one call him Izuru, or even mention the name to him, but that didn't stop the memories from haunting him. He wasn't Hajime Hinata anymore. He was Izuru Kamukura, and it made him feel sick. He had murdered and because of him, because he uploaded Junko's virus into the program, the killing game began again. His friends were dead, only five out of fifteen making it to see reality again, and it was his entire fault. And now that the Future Foundation was going to pull the plug and stop preserving his comatose friends, he couldn't get over the guilt weighing him down.

At the very least, they were no longer Ultimate Despair. They were no longer going to devastate the world and cause chaos at every turn. The Tragedy was calming down now—the world was still hectic and trouble still broke out, but slowly it was going back to how it should have. The way it was before Junko destroyed it all.

But that didn't stop them from feeling despair. And when the day finally came around for them to say their final goodbye to the comatose kids, despair was all they could feel.

* * *

**Well... I never want to write something like this again. Not that it's very depressing, on the contrary, it was hard to write it because it was supposed to be depressing and I failed. Anyway, this will be a series, and this will include some FCs much later on. Probably not any pairings, though, it's supposed to be based on a murder mystery after all, but you never know.**

**Anyway, what do you think? And honestly, if I should rewrite it to try and make the "emotion" better, let me know. I'd appreciate it.**


	2. Unprepared

**Okay, okay. I've been backed up with a lot of stuff lately- but there really isn't much of an excuse for my lateness other than life sucks. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. This one is debatebly less shitty than the prologue, but I'm always really harsh on my writing, so... Hope you guys enjoy it!**

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Of all the bad news they had received so far, they surely didn't expect to hear _this_.

"The hell do you mean you're sending us back?"

Makoto frowned a bit at Kazuichi's outburst, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "We can't keep you on Jabberwock Island forever. The entire point of you guys staying here was because of the chance the others would wake up… since the Future Foundation, well, pulled the plug on them, they see no reason to keep you here."

The small brunette felt a bit guilty after telling them the reasoning. It had only been a week after the comatose kids were finally put to rest, and the group was still adjusting. Losing their friends again had been hard on them—they were managing, but barely. Now they were being told they would be sent back to Japan to live like everyone else in the Tragedy because their friends had been given up on. It wasn't like they had given up—no, they clung to their hope like it was all they had, because in some ways, it was. The Future Foundation decided to give up, and now they were paying the consequences for it.

"So, what, we just go back to the world we destroyed and pretend it's all fucking okay?" Fuyuhiko snapped, digging his nails into his palm as he balled his hands into fists. Byakuya shook his head, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, "To be honest, yes. They let you stay here so you could rehabilitate away from society, so no harm could be done if you decided to go back to being Ultimate Despair. You're rehabilitated, great, so there's no real reason for you to stay."

"That's so unfair!" Akane growled, glaring at them. Byakuya glared right back, huffing a bit. "They chose to let you stay this long instead of killing you as soon as you left the simulation. I wouldn't say it's unfair."

"But…," Sonia mumbled, "what about the others in the world? Will they still recognize us as Ultimate Despair?"

Kyoko sighed, staring at the wall in front of her. "Possibly… well, more of probably. You did spend a little over a year destroying the world, I'm sure a good amount of people know who you were."

"Gee, thanks," Kazuichi grumbled, "that sounds like a nice scenario to go back to, right guys?"

They all let out varying sounds of agreement, not liking the idea in the slightest. All but Hajime, who sat in his chair, mutely staring at the floor. He couldn't process this. He didn't want to process this. First, he lost all of his friends who died in the simulation not once, but twice now—and they would never come back. And now they had to just suck it up and go back to brave the Tragedy, the one that they created. Other than overhearing a few reports the Future Foundation shared, and their somewhat spotty memories of the events, they stayed mostly ignorant to the severity of the Tragedy. Hajime couldn't speak for everyone else, but he was quite certain none of them wanted to know how bad the mess they caused truly was.

He ran a hand through his hair—why was it when they were over wanting despair, it kept creeping back at them?

"Look," Makoto said, trying futilely to placate the others, "I won't lie, this will be hard for you. But you've made it this far, right? So you can definitely do this… I know you can."

"You're not helping," the yakuza groaned, sinking back into his chair as his gaze cast down to the floor. He was silent for a moment, as if considering his words, before he decided to speak. "You're telling us to go back into society—which is completely and utterly fucked up, thanks to us. There are people who still see us as Ultimate Despair, and will probably never accept or believe that we're better now, which will probably end with either no one going near us or trusting us ever again, or people trying to kill us, right?"

When the three stayed silent, unsure of how to reply, he took it as an affirmation to his claim and sighed, shaking his head. Sonia spoke up next, trying to reason with them. "You can't possibly believe this will be a good idea, can you?"

"It's not our choice," Byakuya said, shrugging, "it's the Future Foundation."

"The Future Foundation is full of assholes, y'know that?" Akane spat angrily. The heir looked over at her, a scowl on his face, but Kyoko beat him to answering. "I understand this is upsetting to you guys, but there's really no other option. You can't live here forever, either—eventually you have to go back."

"But… why so soon?"

Everyone looked over at Hajime, almost startled—he had been quiet this whole time, they almost forgot he was there. "Why?" he asked again, "Why do we have to accept one disaster after another? We just lost our friends for good, and hoping that they would wake up was the one thing keeping us going this whole time. Now we have to leave, and just forgot them? Just live our lives like none of it happened? Why do we have to do that right now?"

"You won't have to," Makoto said. "Just because you're going back doesn't mean you have to pretend it never happened. Live on for yourselves, and your friends. Just because they're gone doesn't mean you have to forget—take their memory with you and live your lives for all of them, because they can't anymore."

They all fell silent, not sure what to say anymore. There was no arguing this, was there? They couldn't seem to change anyone's mind about this. What were they supposed to do? There was no preparation at all—it was all happening at once. They couldn't face this all at once. So why did they have to?

After everything that happened to them, everything they overcame, why did it have to end like this?

"They're bringing a boat tomorrow at noon," Kyoko explained. "I contacted an acquaintance of mine in Tokyo, she'll be your guide, as well as an informant if needed."

"You won't even be with us? I mean, we can at least trust you! How will we know if she's safe?" Sonia asked, slightly fearful. If Fuyuhiko was right, and people might be after them for revenge, how could they trust someone else—someone they didn't even know—to help them?

"If you really trust us, then trust that we wouldn't put you in harm's way, not after everything that's happened," Makoto explained.

Kazuichi just stared at them, "But—,"

"No," Byakuya said, cutting him off before he could protest, "this is what the Future Foundation has decided on. Be ready at the docks before noon, and please don't cause any scenes."

They had no choice, did they?

* * *

All five survivors were at the docks by the time the boat came into view. They had protested in the morning as well, still not wanting to face their mess, but it was as futile now as it was then. When the ship made it to the dock, the detective and heir boarded first, going to talk with the people in charge, to make sure everyone was on the same page.

The former despairs hesitated, although there was no getting out of this. They had to leave, and with a defeated sigh, they each boarded the boat. Makoto followed behind them, stopping Hajime on the deck by putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," the luckster said gently, squeezing his shoulder to try and prove his sincerity. Hajime nodded, but said nothing. The boat stood still on the water, before creating ripples behind it as it started to move. Hajime looked back as the distance between him and the island grew more noticeable, and flinched.

He wasn't ready for this.

* * *

**Aaaaand rating will probably be bumped up, because Fuyuhiko isn't Fuyuhiko without the excessive use of the F-bomb. C: Which, to me, is even less suitable than other swear words, so... whatever. Let me know if it needs to be? ****And on a side note, for those wondering about my neglect towards Guardians of Oz (the other one of my current stories) I'm writing the new chapter as we speak, it will be posted today.**

**Also, this story does not have a beta reader... so while I check multiple times for typos, I don't always catch them and some will appear. I deeply apologize for that!**


	3. Midnight Chat

**A filler chapter? What? No waaaaaay~ Eh, whatever.**

**Also, to ThunderRaptor, who asked about any cameos from the Another Episode cast- I will admit, they will show up in this story. When? ... You'll just have to wait and read~ But yes, good question, they will be here. c:**

**Anyway, I _hope_ you enjoy~! ... I'm sorry.**

* * *

The gentle sway of the boat as it pushed through the water—accompanied by the light swishing sounds of the waves and ripples that trailed out behind the ship—seemed to be enough to put everyone on board asleep.

_Almost everyone._

Hajime lay awake, staring at the ceiling as the waves crashed and the boat rocked, almost beckoning him to rest. He didn't want to rest, though. Because resting meant sleeping, not preparing, and when he would awaken after sleeping they would be in Tokyo, and if he didn't prepare before then, well, he wasn't sure what he would do. Everything was so messed up now—he didn't like this at all.

He blinked once, his gaze cast lazily at the sights in the cabin he stayed in. The small porthole nearby, closed to prevent birds and high waves from getting in, yet not sealed enough to block out the all too familiar scents of seawater and tropic winds. He looked at the walls—painted the colors of warm steel and raw wool— and the small lamp in the corner of the room, which its fluorescent light that normally illuminated the area was turned off now so the people on board the ship could sleep. _Could _being the keyword, Hajime mused. He shifted on his bed, or rather, the cot that he was laying on, to get a better look at things—such as the group's belongings on the shelf, and the cots that the other males were sleeping on. The girls were with Kyoko in another room, a few doors down, while the boys in here with Byakuya. Makoto had needed a place to sleep, since the rooms only had four cots, so the girls let him stay with them, as they had extra…

Hajime cringed, remembering their time in the funhouse. With Strawberry House and Grape House, the towers, when the boys didn't have enough space so he bunked with the girls, when they were starving to death, and Nagito's impossible luck with Russian Roulette, the fact that there was nothing special about him. When Nekomaru was killed—when Gundham was executed for it, because of their battle, their deal…

_None of this would have ever happened if not for Izuru._

He gripped the blanket and tugged it over his head, trying in vain to block out the memories and the thoughts. This hadn't been the first time a night of sleep was lost in place of a guilt trip—Hajime just wished that it could finally be the last. He was almost _used _to having his guilt gnaw away at him. The despair would sometimes creep into the back of his mind—and although he knew it wouldn't go away, he wouldn't ever submit to it again. That's all they cared about, right? That he wouldn't go back to despair. It didn't matter how he lost sleep or lost his mind, it didn't matter how his head would spin with awful thoughts and memories, with blame and guilt and hate.

It didn't matter anymore.

None of his friends blamed him—possibly because they were all suffering from their own troubled memories—however few they recovered immediately. But still, he knew he blamed himself. If Izuru hadn't uploaded AI Junko into the Neo World Program, they'd all be rehabilitated—_all of them—_and they wouldn't have to remember what they did. They wouldn't have to have not only the baggage of past despair, but the deaths of the friends they waited for two years to wake up dragging them down as well.

As more of their memories from the Tragedy slipped in through their defenses, Hajime figured he couldn't dwell on it. He had to be the friend who could care for others when they needed him—much like in the simulation, when he had held everyone together. Well, he _and _Chiaki had…

He bit his lip, tugging on the covers again. Chiaki—while he was glad she wasn't forgotten about all together, it didn't help that the girl he grew so close too after everything they suffered wasn't even real. He had trusted her, felt more comfortable with her than anyone else on the island. He wanted to show her the world when they left the island, he wanted to explore places with her, and just keep her around. She seemed like a keeper. And yet, it all figured that none of that could ever truly happen. The burning fact that she couldn't be there in reality—whether it was cold and cruel, or those scarce blissful moments—the fact that she was only a distant and somewhat hazy memory, stung him in more ways than he would have liked.

He felt a dull, aching pain in the back of his mind, that went out to consume all of his senses, and once more questioned why he ever felt a love for despair.

He squirmed on the cot again, his eyes cast upon the ceiling as he didn't want to look around anymore. He didn't want to think about it—for thinking was remembering, and he could see why no one had wanted them to remember. He didn't want to remember it anymore. He didn't want to muscle through it anymore.

He just didn't want to do it anymore.

"… Hey, Hajime, are you still awake?"

The voice was a low whisper, yet loud enough that Hajime was able to tell who it was. He sat up on his elbows, glancing over to the mechanic's cot—the pink haired boy was sitting up, his back against the wall and his knees brought up to his chest.

"Yeah, I haven't slept yet…," Hajime mumbled back.

"I could tell—the cot kept squeaking every time you moved," Kazuichi murmured, a ghost of a smile on his lips, before it disappeared and he curled in tighter on himself. "… What do you think will happen when we get there?"

"Get where? Tokyo?"

"Yeah… do you actually think things will be okay?"

Hajime chewed on his bottom lip for a few seconds, trying to come up with an honest answer. Did he? No, not at all. But that wasn't very reassuring, was it? "Honestly, I don't think it will be—at least not right away. Who knows?" he whispered. "Maybe it'll be better than we think? Maybe we're just being paranoid…"

"The paranoia might be justified, though…," the mechanic sighed, trying to make eye contact with Hajime, even though the room was practically pitch black.

The Reserve Course boy shook his head, feeling a little defeated at the thought, "Yeah, it might be… it'll be better if we don't think too far ahead, though. Let's just see how it goes and take it from there?"

"Because that worked so well on the island, right?"

Both males turned to the final survivor in the room, who was resting face up on the cot and musing out loud—whether it was to himself or the two them, they weren't really sure.

"H-Hey… Fuyuhiko—,"

"It's true though, right?" he hissed, his voice quiet, though quite aggravated. "Because… see where that got us? Just going with it and having blind faith that things would be alright—isn't that what got everyone killed?"

_No, Izuru got everyone killed._

Hajime flinched, unconsciously brushing a hand through his hair and gripping at the locks as if to tug the thought out of his mind. _No, don't dwell on that right now_, he chastised himself. He couldn't focus on it—regret wouldn't change what had already happened. It wouldn't bring them back.

"Believing in each other, and believing in ourselves that we could overcome it… and did it work?" His voice was getting sharper—Hajime didn't fail to understand his irritation. "No, it didn't. Because we still lost more than half of our class, hell, our fucking _friends_—sticking to the belief that it wouldn't be so bad… and even after two years, just going with it has gotten us where?"

The room was silent for a moment.

"They're still gone… _she's_ still gone. And now that we remember, we're just supposed to forget and live on? Try to look for the good things?" A bitter chuckle escaped his lips, his voice strained and angry. "… What good things are left?"

Hajime was sure the boy's rant had completely shifted from the original topic—he assumed the shorter male was finally venting his frustrations about the situation. Still, Hajime couldn't deny that the words were piercing him in an all too personal sense.

"It doesn't really matter what you answer, anyway," the young yakuza said softly, his tone suddenly sounding tired and defeated. "Because… because even if you say that we still got out alive, and that we're over our Ultimate Despair days… what's actually gotten better? Honestly…"

Fuyuhiko rolled over onto his side, turning to face the wall.

"What's there to hope for now?"

"H-hey, dude…," Kazuichi whispered, obviously feeling much worse after the blonde boy's vent.

There was no response.

"Fuyuhiko…," Hajime tried again, still quiet. He was worried—not only because Fuyuhiko's way of thinking wasn't helping anyone at all, but if that's how he felt, would he really be alright? Or would he crumble once again…?

When there was no reply, or even sounds of acknowledgement from the smallest boy's cot, Hajime tried again, a bit louder.

"Fuyuhiko…"

Nothing still. Hajime tried, his voice raising a little more again.

"Hey, Fuyuh—,"

"Sssshh," Byakuya's voice slurred sleepily from the final corner of the room. "Keep your voices down, and go back to sleep," he hissed, obviously irritated, and not fully awake, either. Just awake enough to scold them for waking him at all. "We'll… we'll be there soon in the morning, and I don't want to hear any complaints of being tired… besides, _some_ people are trying to sleep, anyway…"

Hajime bit his lip, wanting to press that they couldn't sleep and it was easier to talk it out, but upon remembering Fuyuhiko's sour opinion on the situation at hand, and how Kazuichi was obviously going to jump on the same train now—he figured it would be best to try and sleep.

So as he lay down on the cot, closing his eyes and trying to think of anything but their current troubles, he felt himself finally drifting into sleep.

At least when he was asleep, there were no dreams. No guilt and no reminders. No pain and no despair.

Just blissful nothing.

* * *

**Once again, I have no beta for my stories, so... sorry if I miss a typo or two.**

**And, well, until next time- bagels to those who review~**


	4. Spiral Down

**So... this is an interesting chapter? Sorry for the long leave on this, but today I have two chapters for you- so I hope that helps make up for it. This chapter has a sort of panic attack in it... if it doesn't seem like a legit panic attack, forgive me, I'm basing them off of my own panic attacks.**

**Still, the plot will start really rolling soon, so... hang tight until then!**

* * *

Hajime was really starting to wish he had slept better that night.

The situation itself was quite mentally exhausting—having no time to prepare yourselves to stay in a world you destroyed—but the moment the landed at the docks, the sun having just barely come up, Byakuya was ushering them out of bed with harsh commands and painful reminders. When Hajime grabbed his pillow and pressed it over the side of his head, Byakuya snatched it away with a brief scold about how it was his fault for staying up talking, and took it to the other side of the room. The Reserve Course boy groaned, swinging his legs to the other side of the cot with a glare at the true affluent progeny—honestly, he preferred the imposter Byakuya on the island over the real one.

"Get changed," the blonde male ordered, as Hajime took note of how the others were already out of the room. "We're waiting, and getting impatient."

Hajime covered a hand over his mouth, muffling a yawn as his eyes remained narrowed at the Future Foundation member, who returned the gesture without problem.

"Fine."

After blearily stumbling into some sort of coordinated outfit, Hajime grabbed his belongings and walked out the door silently. The others were already on the dock, bags of their possessions in hand, looking as tired as he was. No one said anything, as the three Future Foundation members exited the boat shortly after the Reserve Course boy had. The survivors looked up at them, expressions ranging from anger to sadness, to just plain emptiness.

"I understand this has been rough for you guys…," Makoto started, a sad, but hopeful smile on his lips, a gesture no one found helpful. "But you need to know that we're proud of you guys making this step. You've done wonderful in rehabilitation, and I'm sorry the others couldn't join you. But just remember, you can live on for them. If you keep living, your memories of them live on too… and while it won't be the same, it helps. Trust me on that."

There was a pause, letting his words sink in for a moment. Hajime bit his lip, desperately wanting to believe the words, but finding them hard to accept. Would it help? Would living on to preserve their memories really do them good? He knew that it made sense, but it also broke him down to remember. It hurt to remember that these wonderful friends were dead because of him. No, because of Izuru…

… No. Because of _him_.

"Now, regarding your transition back into your lives here, I feel it's necessary to inform you of how to handle it," Kyoko said, gathering the attention of the group. She was silent, trying to consider her words, something that frightened them a bit. The gentle crashing of the waves rang in their ears for a moment, before the lavender haired girl finally spoke up again.

"People may still see you as Ultimate Despair. I can say not everyone will, but certainly some will recognize you. That said, there will be a lot of distrust aimed towards you. Don't let it get to you—you may have done horrible things in the past, however you've come a very long way since then. The people in town just aren't aware of that yet."

"I recommend you all stay together for a while, as moral support," Makoto added on, "and travelling as a group will be safer, anyway."

"Safer?" Sonia squeaked out.

"If people recognize you as Ultimate Despair, there's a good chance you that there will be attempts on your lives," Byakuya said, folding his arms. "If that does happen, we advise you not to stay and fight. Merely hold them off until you can find a way to escape."

"A-Are you serious!?" Kazuichi stammered. "You're really going to just shove us out there when we might get killed…!?"

Hajime blinked, the situation seeming to finally sink in. He looked up at the three Future Foundation members, who exchanged concerned glances—and for some reason, that made his blood boil. Why the hell were they concerned now? If they all _really_ thought this was dangerous, then why didn't they protest against them having to leave the island? If it was really so concerning, why did they go through with it? He chewed on his lip a bit—was he being irrational here? After all, they couldn't defy Future Foundation, could they…?

And in that moment, something within him snapped.

"… What the hell did we do?" Hajime hissed, glaring at the trio. They seemed startled at the venom in his voice, and he continued before they could comment. "What the _hell_ did we ever do to deserve this? Losing our friends? Being forced back to a place where we could die for our past mistakes? Why are you guys okay with this…?"

Makoto waved his hands in front of him, looking a bit panicked. "Of course we're not okay with this! We didn't want this to happen any more than you did, but there was nothing we could—,"

"_Shut up!_"

Everyone jolted at the outburst, staring warily at Hajime, who was clutching at his head and glaring with hatred at the people in front of him.. "Just _shut up!_ You say you couldn't defy Future Foundation, but you have before! You defied them to rehabilitate us! You defied them to keep the others safe! You've defied them in the past! _What the hell do you mean you can't defy them!?"_

"We can't go against their orders at every turn, Hajime," Kyoko scolded, "you should know that. We've done the best we could for you so far, but there's nothing else we can do now. This is what has to happen."

Hajime tried to speak, tried to protest again, but his chest was tight, and he couldn't speak or breathe and it hurt _and why did it hurt so bad he couldn't breathe it hurt it hurt why did it hurt—_

He squeezed his eyes shut, tugging furiously at his hair, his breathing sporadic and his body trembling violently. Sonia let out a soft whimper, placing her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Hajime… we will be okay. We can make our own future together, remember…? We can—,"

"Shut up!" he spat, slapping her hand away and spinning to face her in fury. "Your help is worthless, so _fuck off!_"

"H-Hajime…!"

His eyes widened, staring at Sonia in shock. Her eyes were fearful, gently rubbing her hand to soothe the pain.

"I…"

He froze, looking around the group. He tried to read their faces, but the darkness of despair was creeping into his mind and his vision seemed blurry. Really blurry, in fact. His eyes stung and his cheeks felt damp and—wait, was he crying? He wiped at his eyes, trying to look at the water on his hand, but his vision blurred with tears once more too quickly.

"I-I…"

He wasn't even sure if he was still breathing, but he was still standing conscious so he must have been. He saw mouths moving and people stepping towards him, but he didn't hear and he didn't know what to do other than grip at his hair and grit his teeth. He took a step back, trying to distance himself. Makoto took a step forward, his face deeply concerned, but Hajime didn't want concern. He didn't need concern. What he needed was to stop the despair creeping into his chest. To calm down and find a way to breathe again, because he still swore he wasn't.

He needed to escape.

And that was the last thought that crossed his mind before he bolted away from the docks and into the city, ignoring the protests and calls of his friends. He kept running, each footstep in sync with the mantra in his head.

_Your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault…_

Hajime felt like he was suffocating in his thoughts, digging his nails into his scalp. He finally collapsed somewhere in an alley, he wasn't sure how far from the docks he was, but he didn't care anymore. He curled his legs close to his chest and buried his face in his lap. He let out a sob—letting out all of the pain and guilt that had gnawed at his head since they woke up two years ago.

He was tired of being the happy one. He felt awful about everything—what he had done to his friends. Himself. The world. How was he supposed to cope? He wasn't ready for this. He didn't want this. He didn't want despair anymore.

That was the last thought he had before he heard someone calling his name.

* * *

**I'm not exactly as proud of this chapter as I wish I could be, but... I'll survive with it for now. I have this own theory that even though Hajime basically got over the whole Izuru thing, he probably still feels a bit guilty. And since all of the comatose kids finally died, I assume he would feel extremely guilty about it. And aside from that, it's still important for this- so I apologize if it seems too strange for him or something like that.**

**If there's something I could do better to revise it, let me know! Please review and let me know what you think so far! Even if you hate the story, let me know how I can make it better? Thanks for reading!**


	5. There For Each Other

**Blah. Not much to say about this one. Hopefully you guys aren't too bored with this yet, because within the next chapter or two things will start getting interesting.**

**Enjoy!**

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"Hajime?"

The boy stifled his next sob, looking up at the person who spoke. Sonia was there in front of him, with Kazuichi, Akane, and Fuyuhiko approaching behind her. Her eyes were sad and scared, and he flinched—was she scared of him?

He hoped she hadn't noticed—but she had always picked up on those things. She crouched down beside him, gently grasping his hands, pulling them away from his head. She saw the blood under his nails, and frowned. "Hajime… you need to steady your breathing. I will do so with you, alright? Breathe in with me, and exhale when I do."

She took a deep breath, gently gesturing with her hand to emphasize it. Why was she helping him? He was confused. He had just completely flipped out, and had hurt her, but she still tried to calm him? Why? Why did he deserve her kindness?

"Hajime. Breathe with me, please."

Her voice was stern, but not angry, and Hajime swallowed a lump in his throat before taking a shaky inhale. He tried to hold it in while Sonia did, and his chest trembled with the effort. She then exhaled, still holding his hands, as she gave them a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Good," Sonia said with a small smile. "Now… again."

And he did. They sat there in silence, breathing with each other, until Hajime could finally feel the pain in his chest let loose. Sonia smiled, brushing her thumb along the back of his hand in a soothing gesture, before standing up, and helping him to his feet.

Hajime did feel calm now—but he did still feel guilty, too. His face must have shown it as well, because Sonia put her hand on his shoulder once more and offered him a sweet smile. "It is alright, Hajime. You were merely panicked. I should have been more sensitive of that fact before I interjected."

"No… I'm sorry. Even if I was panicking, I shouldn't have blown up in your face like that. You were being kind and you didn't deserve the outburst."

"All is forgiven," she said, "now, shall we return?"

"Y-yeah… about that, does anyone actually know the way back to the docks…?"

Hajime stared at Kazuichi incredulously. "Are you serious right now?" he asked, brow raised. The mechanic chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "You bolted. We chased you down… we didn't wait for the others, to be honest. Calming you down was our main priority."

Hajime actually felt a bit flattered at that. But it was soon stomped out as he realized he had gotten them lost in a city that could very well be a danger to them. Great, just what they needed. He looked around, trying to remember which directions he ran in. He had made quite a few turns to avoid debris in the road, but he was too distraught at the time to have really paid attention.

"Dammit…," Hajime mumbled. "We're lost?"

"Seems that way," Akane shrugged, "but I'm sure if we wander around, maybe we'll find it again."

"Oh, genius idea," Fuyuhiko snapped, "let's just aimlessly explore the place full of people who may or may not want to kill us. That'll end well."

"What's wrong Baby Gangsta, you scared or somethin'?"

"Me? Scared? What the fuck are you trying to imply?" he snapped, "… and would you _quit_ calling me that already!?"

Akane just laughed a bit, slinging her arm around his shoulders and hauling him forward, despite his protests. "It's fine! We just gotta head towards wherever the water is, and we'll find the docks, right?"

"I surely hope it is that simple, Akane…"

"It won't be," Fuyuhiko argued, "unless we know which direction to go to the sea, we might actually be heading even further into the city."

"That is true, too," Sonia murmured.

"Still, it's not really like we have any other choice," Kazuichi sighed, "if we just sit here, we're probably in even more danger."

"I guess so," Hajime said with a nod, following the group after wiping at his eyes one last time—to make sure any evidence of his fit was gone.

They wandered around in silence for a few minutes, before Kazuichi spoke up. "None of these building look like ones we've passed."

"They all look the same to me," Akane retorted, "demolished. It's too hard to tell them all apart."

"Did we perhaps pass by a building someone could use as a landmark?"

"Not that I remember," Fuyuhiko answered, not bothering to look at Sonia as he did. Hajime glanced around the area, chewing on his lip.

"I think we're lost."

"We're not lost!" Kazuichi protested, "we can't be! I mean, how hard should it be to find our way around this place?"

"First off, dumbass," the yakuza groaned, "I'm pretty sure none of us actually lived here in Tokyo, so none of us are too familiar with the area, right? Second, everything here is fucking destroyed, so there's no way to know any _landmarks_ nearby. Even all the shit in the road looks the same."

"Well that doesn't mean you can't _try_ to remember!"

"Why bother?"

"Boys, please do not fight," Sonia said, her brow furrowed. Akane shrugged, stopping so the group could catch up—she had walked off ahead to scout out the paths. "Huh… this is harder than I thought it would be."

"No shit. I told you so."

"Don't give me that attitude, Baby Gangsta!"

"I told you to stop fucking calling me that!"

"Guys, cut it out, you're causing a scene…!"

Hajime sighed, but a small, fond smile formed on his face. The same old bickering from the island—it was heated and quite typical, but still casual all the same. Surprisingly, it reminded him of the better times—when they could all just relax and tease each other without concern. Without the despair creeping up on them. Back when everything was as simple as having hope and pushing forward.

He frowned—why did that seem like such a distant memory now? It had barely been over a week since then.

"… I don't know, this city is huge after all."

The group froze, looking around for the owner of the new voice. A brief moment of panic swept over them—was this someone who would try to harm them? The voice was feminine, and sounded mature, yet still a bit young at the same time. A teenager perhaps.

"… true, but where do I even start looking… yeah, but they could be anywhere by now, right?"

Hajime raised a brow, he hadn't heard a second voice. Was the person on a phone? Or maybe they were crazy and was talking to themselves… but he hoped it was the former option.

"… well, it isn't really my fault he ran away. If I recall, you caused… yes, yes, I know, okay? But still…"

They all flinched. Was she talking about…?

"Hey… who the hell is there?"

Hajime sent Akane a glare, wishing she hadn't drawn attention to them. There was a pause of silence, then rapid footsteps echoed, getting louder with each passing moment. Soon a person emerged from around a building, scanning the group. She bit her lip, then raised her cellphone up to her ear.

"Group of five you said…?"

She waited, obviously listening to the person on the other side.

"… Okay, Kyoko. I think I just found them."

The Reserve Course boy blinked, slightly startled. So she was talking about them on the phone? She looked them all up and down, the nodded, seemingly confirming one of her own thoughts—as the group just stared at her.

Silence filled the space for a moment.

"Um…," Sonia murmured. "Who are you exactly?"

* * *

**Enter a new character? Who do you think they might beeee...? Anyway, thanks for reading, and cookies to those who review. C':**


	6. Of Guides, Trust, and Underestimation

**So... got another chapter done. Mostly because the majority of this chapter was written before I even got to chapter 3. Anyway, we meet a new character in this chapter, so hopefully it'll be good for you guys.**

**Enjoy!**

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"The name's Hotaru Miyoshi," the girl said, brushing her blue bangs out from her face. "I am, or, at least was, the Ultimate Seamstress."

It took a moment for her words to sink in, and when they did, the group all stared at her, brows raised in surprise. "Ultimate? Does that mean you went to Hope's Peak?" Akane asked. Hotaru sighed at the statement, stepping over the rubble and chunks of cement in the street as she approached the group, ignoring the skeptical looks they exchanged. "Yeah, I did," she said, standing in front of the gymnast, who still stood an inch taller than the younger girl. "I _was_ a part of the 78th class, but of course that didn't last very long. When the Tragedy started, the headmaster asked us if we were willing to stay within the confines of Hope's Peak forever. I definitely was not willing to do that, and along with a few others, we took our chances out in the world."

Hajime cringed at the statement—they had an awful time when they left Jabberwock Island, upon realizing what the world had become by their hands. The thought of staying in the school and having to take part in Junko's killing game seemed awful—hell, they would know—but braving a world like _that_ was debatably as bad. "Was it worth it?" Hajime asked, "Taking your chances?"

The seamstress stared at him for a while, then rolled her eyes and huffed in annoyance. It seemed in her mind the question was supposed to answer itself, and she sat down on a large chunk of debris from what seemed like a building, before speaking. "At the time, I didn't think it was," she said, "The world was a disaster. I never thought anything that devastating would happen in such a short time. None of us did. Altogether, six of us chose not to stay in the school. And almost three years later? I only know of one other person that hasn't been confirmed dead, and honestly, I haven't heard from Daiki in months, so I might very well be the only one left right now. But when the survivors surfaced from the school about a year after the start, we learned what we managed to skip out on. So, it was awful trying to brave the Tragedy so suddenly, but I suppose it was better than playing the killing game, right?"

"R-Right," Kazuichi mumbled, not wanting to think about the version of the game they had to play. Sonia blinked and cleared her throat, walking over to the blue haired girl. "If I might ask, why did you decide not to stay? It is not like you knew the killing game would take place, right? So it seems like it was the safer option at the time, so why did you decline it?"

Hotaru closed her eyes, reaching a hand up to tug on her bangs as she thought. "I guess I underestimated how bad it would be," she said, shaking her head. A sad chuckle escaped her lips as she scanned the destroyed city around them. "No offense, I didn't think you guys could cause so much damage, but you were called Ultimate Despair for a reason, right?"

They all stiffened, emotions flaring up inside them. They didn't want to remember they did this, nor did they want to remember they were Ultimate Despair. Fuyuhiko hissed, "H-Hey, how do you—?"

"Unlike the others who stayed ignorant in the school," Hotaru explained, cutting him off with a shrug, "we were witness to what you guys did to the world for Junko. We knew who you were and honestly, we were afraid of you."

She offered them a weak smile, "Don't worry, though, Kyoko explained to me about how you guys got rehabilitated, and I trust her word on it. So there's no reason to flip out, right Kuzu?" She had directed her attention back to the young yakuza, who bristled at the nickname.

"What the hell did you just call me?" he snapped. Hotaru sighed, resting her chin on her hand as a faint smile tugged at her lips. "Still as hot headed as ever, huh?" she mused, "It's the same thing I've been calling you since we met at Hope's Peak Academy. No worries, it still bothered the hell out of you back then- the whole _butchering your family name_ bit- but that's why I did it." She trailed off, her smile faltering as the memory went sour upon looking at the current state of the world. For the others, the words were shocking, somehow seeming impossible. "Wait, you remember your time at Hope's Peak?" Kazuichi asked.

"Naturally," the seamstress responded, "Junko only wiped the school memories of those who decided to stay behind for her game, so the others and I remembered full well what went on at Hope's Peak Academy."

Hotaru hopped down from her perch on the rubble, and began to walk away. They watched her leave, curious as to when the conversation had formally ended, but when she turned around she seemed irritated. "Are you coming or what?" she called back, waving her hand to signal that they were meant to follow.

The group exchanged curious glances, turning back to Hotaru. She shook her head and mumbled something under her breath. "My patience is wearing thin, y'know," she said. "There are still threats out here, and some people are more than willing to kill you guys for what you've done in the past. Kyoko wanted me to look after you guys, and I can't do that if you don't get your asses over here."

"So…," Kazuichi mused, "you're the guide she was talking about?"

"Pretty last minute if you ask me, but yes, I am," the seamstress replied. "I'll explain more if you want—there's stuff Kyoko told me to inform you on, and I'm sure you all have questions too—but we need to get going, first."

Sonia nodded, being the first to follow the younger girl—Kazuichi tagged along a moment later, helping the princess over some of the debris in the road. Akane grabbed Fuyuhiko and dragged him along, ignoring his protests of being treated like a child, and Hajime stood there for a moment more, before deciding it would be best not to be the only one staying behind.

They weren't too far into their walk before Fuyuhiko started up the conversation. "Hey… Hotaru, was it? What did you mean by _last minute_ earlier? When he asked if you were our guide?"

"I mean that up until two weeks ago, I wasn't supposed to do anything more than try to survive, or keep a lid on any _dangerous activity _in Tokyo. Apparently," she explained, "one of our classmates who survived the first game—Touko Fukawa—was intended to be your guide. Problem was, most of the Foundation members were still a bit wary of her alternate personality, and the fact that she was still insistent on staying in Towa City with that one girl didn't help either. So, as a last resort, they came to me. Like I said, I'm so far the only known survivor of those who didn't stay in the school, and I'm not a member of the Future Foundation, so Makoto didn't have to worry about your guide _disposing of you_, or something like that. And since I've managed three years of the Tragedy so far, they assumed I'd be able to take care of you guys…"

"So… you're like one of those last minute babysitters?" Akane asked. Hotaru chuckled a bit, "If you want to think of me as a babysitter, go right ahead. I'm really only here to make sure you all handle going back into society well—no relapses or issues. I'm supposed to help you understand the way the world is now, and help you all adjust into normal lives again."

"Wait, wait," Fuyuhiko interjected, "the hell do you mean, _no relapses_? I thought we already proved ourselves to those jackasses!"

"You did," Hotaru replied, "… sort of, anyway." She turned the corner down an alleyway, signaling for them to follow her that way. "Some of them were worried that seeing everything you did would make you fall back into despair. It's not that they don't trust you, it's just…"

She trailed off, unsure of what to say next. She gave them a slightly sheepish glance and kept walking, as they approached an old, broken building. "Here," she said, pointing to the doorway. "I've set up some supplies here—we have an actual location out in an abandoned city, a few miles from here, but for now we'll stop and get everyone situated, alright?"

They all agreed, for the weren't sure they had a choice otherwise. The six of them walked into the building, looking around. It wasn't anything fancy—in fact, it looked incredibly rushed to be prepared. Then again, if Hotaru was correct on being a last minute guide, it most likely was rushed.

"Sit down anywhere you like. I brought in as many chairs as I could find," she stated, "and there's a cot that I can bring out if anyone needs to rest. Sorry it's not much… I didn't have much time to plan."

"It's fine," Akane grinned, giving her a thumbs up, "it looks pretty good for last minute to me."

The blue haired girl gave her an unsure smile, then turned to the group, who were finding places to make themselves comfortable. "If you guys have any questions, I'd recommend you ask them now."

Sonia was the first to speak up, "What is the name of the city we will be staying in? The actual location you had mentioned."

"I… don't actually know what it's really named. People stopped referring to cities by their real names a while after the Tragedy started—it's all just nicknames now. Like… codenames, in a sense. I do know people called it Buji City. It used to be one of the safest places in Japan, until a wave of riots and Monokuma units flooded the place. Everyone evacuated, and now it's just abandoned."

"So… there's Monokuma in the real world, too?" Fuyuhiko mumbled. "Fuck. Just fucking wonderful."

"Hey, calm down," Hotaru said. "It's not that bad, they're mostly in Towa City again, so… but to be honest, there's more kinds of Monokuma then the one you saw in the Neo World. Beast Monokuma for one thing—they're incredibly dangerous. Steer clear of the Junk Monokuma, as well. Those things are scary as hell."

"… Dangerous? As in, they attack people?" Kazuichi asked, his eyes wide.

"Yeah…," Hotaru trailed off, almost uncomfortable. "I've seen them do some horrid things. If you see one, avoid them at all costs, got it?"

"D-Duly noted."

Hotaru then turned to Hajime, curious as to why he was silent so far. "Hey… do you have any questions?"

Did he? He wasn't too sure himself... he really was curious about a lot of things, but he was worried about the information he would receive. Would it be as horrid as everything else they had all learned? He didn't think he could take it if it was.

"… Can I ask about you?"

"Wait, what?" Hotaru blinked, confused. Hajime shrugged, "It's just… if we have to trust you to help us and protect us, I'd like to know a little bit more about you first… is that alright?"

"Well… I suppose so," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "What would you like to know?"

Hajime paused, considering where he wanted her to start. After a moment, he looked over at her, nodding his head in silent confirmation.

"Well… start with what you remember of the Tragedy. You said you and others left the school… so what happened?"

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**Yup... sorry guys, new girl is an FC. Don't worry, the survivors are still the most important people here. She's just there to move the plot forward a bit. And as for Buji City, I'm sort of basing it off of how Towa City was just a nickname, that eventually it was what everyone referred to it as.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter, please review, and hope you liked this!**


	7. The Story of Six Escapees

**This chapter was... interesting to write. My friend told me it was emotional, and this chapter might be a bit creepy, so... brace yourself? Also involves a few more FCs, as mentioned characters. Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait for you guys, so let me know what you think.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hotaru looked a bit disturbed by the request—Hajime assumed it had something to do with the answers she would have to give. She had stated that the others were dead—or that the one was missing—after all, so the memories were likely bitter. Still, he couldn't deny he was curious on what had happened to them—was braving the Tragedy worse than playing the killing game? Or did they make it through with less emotional scars? He didn't mean to open up her old wounds, but he needed to know at least that much.

"I… I suppose we _can_ start there," Hotaru murmured, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Well, as I had already stated, six of us from the school decided not to stay in the safe haven. We had already been inside the school for three weeks, before the idea to keep the students within the academy came around, so… by the time we left, the Tragedy was going on just shy of a month. We all stuck together for a while, about… three months I believe? Then Mitsuki wanted to go see if her girlfriend, Aiko, was still alive. We all went to Osaka together, we were planning on staying at her house for the time being, but… it was demolished. And her family was dead—quite brutally, and… they were just left there."

Hotaru paused, gripping the hem of her dress, then continued. "We stayed overnight in an abandoned building, planning to get the hell out of there in the morning. When we woke up, Mitsuki was gone—she left a note saying she needed to see what happened to Aiko. She said if she wasn't back by sunset, to leave without her. So, when she didn't return, that's unfortunately what we had to do… except on the way out we ran into these two people—they were most likely a part of Ultimate Despair, but at the time, none of us really knew that. One had Mitsuki's scarf, and we started yelling for what they had done, and after a while another came out, and he was… well… carrying her severed head."

Hotaru's voice faltered on the last word, and the five survivors were silent with shock. Had they themselves done brutal things like that? The thought horrified them a bit.

"She was… obviously dead. But she still looked so scared…"

Hotaru's eyes became shiny for a moment, and she swiped at them with the back of her hand before continuing.

"By then, I had gotten scared for what happened to my family, and I ran back to my hometown to find my mom."

"Your father as well?"

"No, actually…"

Sonia tilted her head. "Might I ask why?"

The seamstress turned to face her, and shrugged, her lips curved in a sad smile. "My parents divorced when I was four, and I lost contact with my dad entirely when I was eight. I wouldn't even know where to begin to look for him…"

"I see… my apologies. Carry on."

"Right… anyway, most of what I say next is just what I heard from Daiki, since like I said, I wasn't there. But it was about five months later that we lost the next person. Tomoyo Kanagaki—she had always been so small and basically fragile, in a way. She was at least a couple inches shy of being five foot tall, and always had this sweet, but timid personality, so… as harsh as it sounds, we all expected her to go early on. That's why we all tried to protect her, but… that doesn't always work. They had travelled to another city, mostly because it seemed like a safe one to reside in for a while. After a week or two, a bad riot broke out, and Tomoyo got caught in the chaos before they could safely escape… Daiki told me that Haku was clinging to her and kept begging her to open her eyes, that the joke wasn't funny… he's never been one to just go into denial like that, so the fact scared all of us, really. I think Haku might have been interested in her. Well, it was pretty obvious he cared deeply for her, but… looking back, I wonder how deep that care was."

She trailed off, musing in her own thoughts for a moment, before pulling herself back to reality. "Next was actually Haku himself. Apparently, within the next month, the last three in the group were arguing a lot. No one could agree on what the best plan of action to stay alive was—the world had gone to absolute Hell by that point, and was still getting even worse. He was distraught about Tomoyo's death, and I think he sort of gave up. From what Daiki told me, that seemed like the most logical assumption to make of it…"

Hotaru sighed, "In any case, he fell into despair. Daiki said he and the others were staying in some old office building overnight, and when they woke up, Haku had a knife in his chest, and a suicide letter in his hand."

"S-suicide… you mean he…?" Kazuichi murmured, gritting his teeth.

The bluenette just nodded. "Y-yeah. He did… he said in the note that he couldn't take the losses anymore. Again, I think a bit of it had to do with his affections for Tomoyo, but… regardless, that left Daiki and Yukari. He told me that they survived together for about six months pretty well—a few attacks that they came close to getting hurt in, but nothing severe, apparently. Still… Daiki was terrified for his family, and he needed to go see them and see if they were okay. Yukari went with him, and the two were going to visit her family afterwards, but… they came in the middle of a riot, and quickly ducked inside his old house for shelter. Thing is, there was nobody there. Just a lot of blood all over the place, broken glass and caved in walls and ceilings… complete destruction. And his sister's necklace was on the floor, broken and bloodstained. Apparently that was when Daiki lost it. He started panicking, and Yukari tried to calm him down, but it didn't work well at all. He bolted out of the house, and into the chaos. Yukari was running after him… apparently she was struck down and attacked, but he didn't realize it until it was too late. Said he tried to help her, but he was clueless on what he could even do, since her throat had been chewed out by a Beast Monokuma."

There was an awful silence in the room, horror taking over each occupant. Hotaru clenched her fists—she didn't want to remember, but she knew there was no hiding from the reality that had happened.

"Daiki and I met up a little while later. I had gotten home safely to my mom, but eventually she was killed while I was out gathering supplies. So, I was on my own for a long time after that. Daiki was the same—after Yukari died, that left no one else in our original group, so he jumped from place to place trying to survive. It was pure luck that we even managed to meet up again in Kawa City. We survived there, catching glimpses of the game—the School Life of Mutual Killing, that Makoto and the others played—but we never saw enough to know exactly what happened. In the end we just watched enough to get the gist of what we left behind."

"The survivors of that game surfaced a few weeks after it began," she continued, "so Daiki and I tried to contact them. They were apparently looking for survivors from Hope's Peak Academy, so that made it easier. They had joined with Future Foundation by the time we found them, and from there we all sort of agreed that Daiki and I could help out in our own way. We kept in contact with them—mostly through the students, of course, and tried to help stop riots or pass on the information we found from wherever we happened to be at the time."

"So… what happened to Daiki?" Akane asked. "I mean, you mentioned that you haven't heard from him in months. Did you guys split up or somethin'?"

"Yes, but not by choice," Hotaru said, her face falling and her shoulders sagging. "Daiki was off trying to locate his sister, since he got some information that lead him to believe she was still alive—and Monokuma units swarmed in. The attack got to be too much, so I had to help the citizens evacuate, and I was forced to run as well. I haven't heard from him since. I've gone back to the city a few times, but no one's seen him. It's making trying to meet up again a lot harder…"

Hajime bit his lip. If it had been months since they last spoke, it sounded like the boy was most likely dead by now. Still, Hotaru seemed to have the idea that they would both meet up alive and well again. It reminded him of the five of them on the island, waiting for the comatose kids. If that was the case, he would let her have that hope. He just wished that if the boy really was discovered to be deceased, she wouldn't fall too far into despair afterwards.

"So… that's about it for the story of braving the Tragedy. Did that help at all?"

The Reserve Course boy looked up at her, and nodded. "Yeah… thanks. Sorry you had to go through all of that again."

"It's fine. Even if it's the bad things, talking about them ensures they are never forgotten," she said, a sad smile on her face. It was forced, and that much was obvious, but it seemed maybe it did hold a bit of meaning. "That's what Makoto told us when we first gained contact again. Even if someone is dead, live on for their memory. That way they'll never truly be gone, y'know?"

And Hajime just nodded, thinking over the words. The luckster had told them that as well—countless times, honestly—and although Hajime believed the words, it still was incredibly difficult to act upon.

Still he would try. For everyone he had wronged in the simulation, for everyone who died thanks to his old need for despair, he would live on for their memory. He owed them that much, didn't he?

And with that thought, Hajime looked up, a small smile on his face. "Yeah… trust me, I know what he means."

* * *

**Hajime is feeling better. Roll credits.**

**Nah, but seriously though, I really hope this chapter was good enough for you guys. If you liked it, let me know. I messed up on something or could have done a part better, let me know. I'd like to hear what you guys think of this so far. Anyway, feel free to leave a review, and until next time, guys!**


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